No consideration is necessary to create an agency as provided under Section 185 of the Contract Act.

M. Y. Eqbal, J. In this writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for issuance of appropriate writ in the nature of certiorari for quashing the notice dated 21.1.2005 issued by respondent No.2 – the District Registrar, Hazaribagh whereby he has directed the petitioner to pay a sum of Rs.82,112/-in respect of Deed No.13 dated 09.6.1999 being the stamp duty which is liable to be paid for the aforesaid deed of Power of Attorney executed in favour of the petitioner.

2. Before deciding the interesting question of law involved in this writ petition, I would like to refer first some of the relevant facts as under:

A registered Power of Attorney dated 09.6.1999 being Deed No.13 was executed by Prakash Kumar, Prabhat Kumar, Prashant Kumar and Sunil Kumar in favour of the petitioner in respect of 0.35 ½ acres of plot No.56 under Khata No.12 situated in the district of Hazaribagh authorizing the petitioner to manage, sell, to defend or file any case and to do all necessary acts including transfer of the said property by executing sale deed in the name of and on behalf of the executant and receive the consideration amount and to pay the same to the executant. Accoridng to the petitioner, the said registered deed of Power of Attorney was duly stamped according to the Stamp Act. The petitioner being the Power of Attorney Holder beside doing other things in respect of the said property executed various sale deeds in favour of different persons. However, the petitioner shocked to receive the impugned notice dated 21.9.2005 issued by the District Sub Registrar, Hazaribagh whereby the petitioner has been directed to pay a sum of Rs.82,112/-being the stamp duty payable in the said Power of Attorney treating the same as an instrument of sale.

3. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner firstly submitted that the Sub Registrar has no power to issue the impugned notice and the same is wholly without jurisdiction. Learned counsel submitted that the registered Power of Attorney did not create, assign, limit or extinguish any right, title or interest in favour of the petitioner in respect of the said property, rather the document merely authorizes and empower the petitioner to manage, deal with, transfer or to do all necessary acts which may be necessary in respect of the said property in the name of and on behalf of the executant.

4. Section 2(21) of the Power of Attorney Act, 1822 defines the word “Power of Attorney” which reads as under: -

“(21) Power-of-attorney. – Power-of-attorney” includes any instrument (not chargeable with a fee under the law relating to Court-fees for the time being in force) empowering a specified person to act for and in the name of the person executing it.”

5. From bare reading of the definition, it appears that a Power of Attorney is a formal document whereby one person authorizes another to represent him and act in his name in relation to any transaction or a number of transactions. Article 48 of Schedule I of the Act prescribes the duty chargeable in respect of Power of Attorney. Article 48 reads as under:

Corresponding Description of Instrument - Proper Stamp

State Sch/Art. Power-of-Attorney as defined by Section Duty

2(21) not being a Proxy (No.52)

(a) when executed for the sole purpose of

procuring the registration of one or more

documents in relation to a single transaction

or for admitting execution of one or more

such documents;

(b) when required in suits or proceedings

under the Eight annas. Presidency Small

Cause Eight annas. Courts Act, 1882.

(c) When authorizing one One rupee. person

or more to act in a single transaction other than

case mentioned in clause (a);

(d) When authorizing not Five rupees. more than

five persons to act jointly and severally in

more than one transaction or generally;

(e) when authorizing more Ten rupees. than five

but not more than ten persons to act jointly and

severally in more act jointly and severally in

more than one transaction or generally;